Magic and Medicine from the Ozarks

Day 154: Ozark Recipes: Cooking with Persimmons

It’s about that time of the year, when the cool weather and early morning frosts start ripening the persimmons. They’re one of those tasty wilderness treats, much like the pawpaws, that seem to be so much better when you go out and gather them yourself.

There’s a bit of lore surrounding the persimmon, recorded here by Vance Randolph:

“I have known hillfolk who more or less seriously forecast the weather for many months in advance by splitting open a persimmon seed in autumn. If the little growth at one end, between the two halves of the seed, looks like a spoon, it means that the next summer will be moist and warm, and that everybody will raise bumper crops. But if the seed carries a tiny knife and fork, instead of the spoon, the growing season will be unsatisfactory and many crops will fail.”

I can remember family members doing this in the Fall and talking about how the persimmon prediction compared to that of the Farmer’s Almanac.

For all of you who enjoy going out and hunting persimmons, here are some recipes from the “Bittersweet” magazine to prepare you for all their tasty wonderfulness.

First, make a puree by rubbing persimmon through a sieve or through a food mill. Measure oil in mixing bowl, add sugar and mix well. Then add eggs, persimmon puree, spices sifted with flour and lastly the raisins. Turn into three or four oiled pans, filling each 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake 45 minutes at 350° or until bread tests done.